Gate-valve.



A. P. SMITH.

GA'IBVALVE.

APPLIOATION FILED NOV. 3, 1904. v v

' Patented May 25, 1909.

2 SHEETS-8331GT 2.

v H v sllllllllill|llll JIIII ANTHONY P. SMITH, OF NEWARK, NEW JERSEY.

GATE -VALVE Specification of Letters Patent.

Application filed November 3, 1904.

Patented May .25, 1909.

Serial No. 231,184.

granted to me October- '8, 1901, there is de- To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, ANTHONY P. SMITH, a citizen of the United States, residing at Newark, county of Essex, and State of New Jersey, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Gate-Valves, fully described and represented in the following specification and the accompanying draw ings, forming a part of the same.

This invention relates to valves of that class in which the valve proper is given its closing and opening movements across, or parallel with the plane of, its seat. In such a valve it is desirable in order to prevent excessive wear of the parts that the valve should not be in contact with its seat while making its opening and closing movements, and such valves have heretofore been provided with means for forcing the valve against its seat after it has been moved edgewise or in the direction across the seat into closing position and for permitting the valve to move away from the seat before it is given its opening movement. Such move ment of the valve flatwise toward and from its seat is preferably secured from a relative movement between the valve and the part by which it is given its opening and closing movements, preferably through the wedging or cam action of oppositely inclined surfaces on the valve and such actuating part. Difficulty has been experienced, however, with such constructions by reason of the liability of such relative movement and resulting flatwise movement of the valve occurring at other times than when the valve is in its closing position and the consequent danger of the valve becoming jammed by being forced against the valve casing or against the seat before being moved into closing position, and of its being started on its opening movement before it has been moved flatwise out of contact with the seat.

The object of this invention is to avoid such difficulty by providing locking means for preventing such relative movement between the valve and the actuating part during the opening and closing movements of the valve and for permitting such relative movement only when the valve is in its closing position opposite to its seat, and for preventing edgewise movement of the valve from its closing position until the actuating part has moved relatively thereto sufficiently to permit it to move away from the seat.

In United States Patent No. 684,118,

scribed and claimed means for preventing relative movement between the valve and the actuating part during the opening and closing movements of the valve, but the means of said patent is adapted only to a construction in which the valve is operated by means of a rotary operating rod or stem which is screw threaded inside the casing, such inside screw operating when turned to cause the opening and closing movements of the valve. In many cases, however, it is desirable that the valve should be operated by means of an endwise moving operating rod or stem reciprocated by means of a threaded portion outside of the casing or by any other suitable means.

The present invention provides means for locking the valve and the actuating part against relative movement during the opening and closing movements of the valve adapted to constructions having a sliding operating rod, such result being secured by providing locking means operated or controlled by the movement of the actuating part relatively to the valve casing, such means consisting preferably of a locking bolt carried by the actuating part and normally in position to prevent relative movement between the actuating part and the valve and cam shoulders on the casing whereby when the valve has been moved edgewise into closing position the bolt is moved to permit the relative movement between the valve and the actuating part for forcing the valve fiatwise against its seat, and whereby when the actuating part is moved in the opposite di rection to open the valve the locking bolt will be moved back into position to lock the valve and the actuating part together after the actuati part has made such movement relatively to the valve as will permit the valve to move liatwise clear of its seat. Such bolt also preferably co-acts with a part on the valve to lock the valve against edgewise opening movement until the actuating part has made suflicient movement to release the valve and permit it to move away from its seat. Such locking of the valve against edgewisc movement is especially desirable in cases where the valve is set to open. downward.

A full understanding of the invention can best be given by a detailed description of a preferred construction embodying the va rious features thereof, and such a description In said drawings: Figure 1 is a view of the valve partly in section on line 1 of Fig. 2. Fig. 2 is a cross sectional View on line 2 of Fig. 1. Fig. 3 is an enlarged sectional v1ew similar to Fig. 2 but with the upper part of.

the structure broken away. Fig. 41 is a section on line 1 of Fig. 3. Fig. 5 is a cross sectional view of a portion of a modified con struction. Fig. 6 is a detail of a part of the construction shown in Fig. 5.

Referring to the drawings and first to Figs. 1 to 4, A represents the valve casing of any suitable form comprising a body portion a having ends b, b for connecting with pipes c, c and having a bonnet portion a into which the valves are withdrawn in making their opening movement. The valves or valve disks 10 and 11 are arranged back to back and are adapted to close against valve seats 12 and 13 oppositely mounted in the body of the casing intermediate of its ends I), b. The valves are given their edgewise opening and closing movements, that is, t eir movements across the valve seats, by means of an endwise moving operating rod 15 to the lower end of which is secured a carrying yoke or head 16 which extends between the valve disks and is provided with oppositely projecting extensions 17 each adapted to engage a air of lugs 18, 19 on each of the valve dis rs. The head is also provided on each side of each of the extensions 17 with guiding shoulders or ribs 20 for engaging guiding shoulders or ribs 21 on the valve disks'to hold the valve disks against any turning movement. The distance be tween the lugs 18, 19 of each pair is such relatively to the width of the extensions 17 of the operating head 16 as to permit a limited relative movement between the head and the valve disks, and the head is provided on each side with a pair of inclined faces 22 for coacting with corres ondingly inclined faces '23 on the valve dis s, said inclined faces extending in the direction of the opening and closing movements of the valves and being inclined so that an inward movement of the operating head relatively to the valve disks will cause the valve disks to be moved flatwiseaway from each other and toward the seats, and relative movement in the opposite direction will release the valves and permit them to move fiatwise toward each other and away from the seats.

The rod 15 may be reciprocated by any suitablemeans. Asshownitextendsthrough the upper end of the bonnet a, a stuffing box 25 being. rovided to prevent leakage, and the end of the rod beyond the stuffing box is screw threaded and extends through a rotary nut 26 mounted in a bracket 27 and rotated by means of a hand wheel 28. By rotating the hand wheel and nut in one direction or the other, therefore, the rod will be moved inward or outward to move the valves into closing position or to retract them to their open position in the bonnet a.

Mounted to slide in the lower end of the head 16 transversely to the direction of the movement of the head, is a locking bolt 30 provided with looking projections or lugs 31 in position to extend opposite the lugs 19 of the valve disks when the locking bolt is in looking position as shown in Fig. 3, thereby preventin relative movement between the valve disks and the head 16. This is the normal osition of the locking bolt and that in whicli it is held during the opening and closing movements of the valve disks. The bolt is held in this position during the opening and closing movements of the valve disks by means of guide bars 32 and 33 on the casing in position to engage the ends of the bolt. The end of the bolt which runs adjacent to the guide bar 32 is formed with an inclined face 34 ada ted to engage an inclined face 35 extending 'rom the bar 32 as the valve disks reach their closing position opposite the valve seats, as shown in Figs. 3 and 4. Such inclined faces 34 and 35 will then cause the locking bolt to be moved to the right from the position shown in Fig. 3 as the inward movement of the operating rod and head 16 continues, thereby moving the locking lugs 31 out of line with the lugs 19 and permittingthe head 16 to make further movement after the movement of the valve disks has been arrested by engagement with the valve casing or stop lugs 36 extending therefrom. The parts will thus come to the relative positions shown in Figs. 1 and 2 and the valve disks will by such further movement be forced against the valve seats by the coaction of the inclined faces 22 on the head 16 with the inclined faces 23 on the valve disks. The guide 33 terminates or is cut away at its lower end at a point to permit the unlocking sliding movement of the locking bolt 30, and the lower end of such guide 33 and the end of the locking bolt adjacent thereto are formed with inclined faces 37 and 38 respectively for co-acting to force the locking bolt back into locking position as the head 16 is again moved outward or in the direction to give the valve disks their opening movement.

To prevent any edgewise opening movement of the valve disks before the head 16 has been moved outward .to move the inclined faces. 22 sufficiently to release the valve disks and permit them to move flatwise away from the valve seats and until the locking bolt 30 with each other and with the inclined faces 37 and 38, and serve to hold the valve disks against edgewise opening movement as the head 16 commences its outward movement and until the head has been moved sufliciently to release the valve disks and permit them to move flatwise away from the valve seats and to move locking lugs 31 of the locking bolt beyond the line of the lugs 19.

The operation of the valve will be understood lrom the foregoing description, but to make it clearer it may be briefly stated as follows: During the opening and closing movements of the valve disks the head 16 will be in the position relatively to the valve disks shown in Figs. 3 and 4, in which position the valve disks are not forced into contact with the valve seats, and the valve disks and actuating head are locked in such relative positions by means of the locking bolt 36 which is held in its locking position shown in Fig. 8 by the guides 32 and 33. In closing the valve, as the valve disks approach their closing position the bolt 30 is moved from the locking position shown in Fig. 3 to the posi tion shown in Fig. 2, thereby permitting the head 16 to move relatively to the valve disks. Further edgewise movement of the valve disks having been prevented by engagement with the stop lugs 86, they will be forced apart and against the valve seats by the continued inward movement 01' the head 16, as shown in Fig. 1. In opening the valve, the valve disks are locked against edgewise opening movement until the head 16 has been moved sui'iiciently to release the valve disks from the pressure which forces them fiatwise against the valve seats, and when such rela- 'tive movement has taken place between the head 16 and the valve disks the locking bolt will have been moved back into locking position to prevent further relative movement between the head 16 and the valve disks during the opening movement of the disks and until they have been again. returned to closing position.

In the modification shown in Fig. 5, a rotary operating rod, having an inside screw is provided instead oi a reciprocating operating rod. In this construction the operating head 16 is not secured to the operating rod, but the upper portion of the head forms a nut through which the screw threaded end of the rod extends, so that by turning the rod the operating head is caused to travel thereon in one direction or the other according to the direction in which the rod is turned. The locking bolt 30 in this construction is formed with a central bend to permit it to pass the end of the operating rod when the valve disks are retracted.

It will be understood that the invention is not to be limited to the exact constructions and arrangements of parts as shown in the drawings and to which the foregoing description has been mainly confined, but that it includes various changes and modifications thereof within the claims.

What is claimed is 1. The combination with a valve seat and a gate valve movable edgewise across the seat to open and closing positions and also flatwise toward and from the seat, of an actuating member for imparting opening and closing movements to the valve, said member being adapted to move relatively to the valve, means whereby such relative movement of the actuating member in one direction causes the valve to move flatwise toward the seat and in the other direction permits it to move flatwise from the seat, locking means for preventing relative movement between the actuating member and the valve, means for moving said locking means into locking position as the actuating member starts on its opening movement and for moving said locking means into unlocking position as the actuating member approaches the end of its closing movement, and means for co-acting with said locking means for preventing edgewise opening movement of the valve from its closing position until the actuating member has been moved to permit the valve to move flatwise, substantially as described.

2. The combination with a valve seat and a gate valve movable edgewise across the valve seat to open and closing positions and also flatwise toward and from the seat, of an actuating member for imparting opening and closing movements to the valve, said member being adapted to move relatively to the valve, means whereby such relative move ment of the actuating member in one direction causes the valve to move flatwise toward the seat and in the other direction permits it to move flatwise from the seat, a locking bolt mounted to slide transverselyof the direction of the opening and closing movements of the valve and adapted when in looking position to prevent relative movement between the actuating member and the valve, means for moving said locking bolt into locking position as the actuating member starts 011 its opening movement and for moving said locking bolt into unlocking position as the actuating member approaches the end of its closing movement, and means for co-acting with said locking bolt for preventing edgewise opening movement of the valve from its closing position until the actuating member has been moved to permit the valve to move flatwise, substantially as described.

In testimony whereof, I have hereunto set my hand, in the presence of two subscribing witnesses.

ANTHONY P. SMITH. l/Vitnesses P. A. SMITH,

THOMAS F. HALPEN. 

